Combined twine holder and retractor



y 1943. F. H. MCILWAIN 2,318,513

COMBINED TWINE HOLDER AND RETRACTOR Filed July 1, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1943; F. H. MEILWAIN 2,318,513

COMBINED TWINE HOLDER ANDRETRACTOR Filed July 1, 1942 2-Sheets-Sheet 2 Q I h 3 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII,IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'III/II gill DEW Mama 8 Patented May 4, 1943 COWINED TWINE HOLDER AND RETRACTOR Franklin H. Mcllwain, Rushville, Ind.

Application July 1, 1942, Serial No. 449,283

Claims.

This invention relates to a cord or twine holder for supporting a ball of cord or twine for unwinding as need therefor occurs and is suitable for use in many places or establishments and especially by postal employees in wrapping letters for delivery.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of means for automatically retracting the twine or cord to the holder as soon as released by the person making use thereof, so that loose cord or twine lying around will be eliminated and thereby reduce to a minimum waste of cord by soiling, becoming entangled or otherwise damaged.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a portion of post ofiice equipment or pigeonhole thereof having arranged therein a combined twine or cord holder and retractor constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the same.

Figure 3 is a front elevation showing the present invention in the pigeon-hole of the post office equipment.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the twine or cord being pulled from the ball of twine or cord supported by the combined holder and retractor.

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating a cord guide forming a part of the present invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates a portion of a post oflice equipment which includes a pigeon-hole 6 constructed by spaced walls I and a horizontally arranged wall 8. Facing strips 9' are provided on the vertical walls 1 at the entrance of the pigeon-hole. The foregoing descriptionrelates to a conventional piece of equipmentused in the post offices for the handling of mail, and it is known that a large amount of twine or cord is employed for the wrapping of letters and if not supported such twine or cord becomes loose or unraveled from the ball and becomes soiled and. otherwise mutilated.

Through the use of the present invention which may be readily installed in the pigeon-hole the waste of cord or twine can be reduced to a minimum. While it has been shown in the drawings that this invention is associated with a particu-' lar piece of equipment, it is to be understood that the device also may be employed on counters, shelves and other similar places within various establishments.

The ball of cord is indicated by the character In and is arranged within a holder I I so that the cord can be fed from the ball from the center of the latter. The holder II is in the form of a cylindrical container, and has secured to opposite sides thereof flexible bowed strips I2 which bear against the vertical walls of the pigeon-hole 5 and against the facing strips 9' to prevent the holder from accidentally sliding out of the pigeon-hole during the time of pulling the cord from the ball.

An automatic twine take-up I3 is pivoted to opposite sides of the container or holder II and is of substantially U shape and is provided with a lip I 4 having an eye or aperture I5 therein. One of the pivots of the automatic take-up I3 has mounted thereon a spring I6 of the clock type, one end of which is fastened to the takeup member or device so that said spring'may actto position the take-up device horizontally, as shown in Figure 1.

A substantially V-shaped bracket IT is secured to the front face or wall of the holder II at a selected distance below the upper edge of said holder and includes diverging members I8 and I9. The member I8 has its upper end'bent in-to hook formation, as shown at 20. The hook por tion 20 terminates with a V-shaped notch 21 to act as a cord grip in combination with the takeup device I3 when the latter is in its normal posi'-' tion, as shown in Figure 1. The hook portion 20 is also provided with an eye or opening 22 for the cord to pass through.

The member I9 diverges from the member I8 and the free end portion is curved slightly toward the hook portion 20 of the member I8 and is provided with an eye or guide opening 23 through which the cord extends.

After the ball of cord has been placed in the holder II, the cord is first passed through the guide or opening 22 and through the notch-2|, then over the holder and through the opening or eye I5 in the lip I4 of the take-up device I3. The cord after passing through the opening I5 is brought back across the holder II and then through the eye or guide opening 23 of the bracket I1. The cord after passing through the opening 23 will be sufficiently long enough to permit a person to obtain a firm grip thereon and when the cord is pulled the take-up member I3 is caused to pivot into the position as shown in Figure 4 by full lines. During this pivotal movement of the take-up member 13 the cord which overlies the holder may pass through the opening 23 and as the lip l4 reaches a position opposite the hook portion 20, the opening l aligns with'the notch 2| relieving the binding action of the cord against th walls of the notch so that the cord can pass freely from the ball. As soon as the pull on the cord is relieved by the operator, the take-up device I3 automatically swings into the position shown in Figure I, drawing therewith the cord across the top of the holder ll moving the free end of the cord into close relation to the bracket [1 to obviate the unwound portion of my cord from becoming entangled.

As the take-up device l3 moves from the full line position shown in Figure 4 to the dotted line position in said figure the cord becomes wedged in the notch 2| and thereby prevents further unwinding .of the cord from the ballduring thepivotal movement of the take-up device from the full line position in Figure 4 to the dotted line position in said figure. Thus it will be seen that a very efiicient cord holder has been provided, one that is extremely easy to install and a have placed therein a ball of cord and also that a very efficient take-up has been provided for removing loose cord outwardly of the holder as soon as the cord has been manually released, eliminating any possibility of loose cord lying around and becoming soiled or otherwise damaged or entangled.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a holder for a ball of cord, means for mounting said holder, a substantially U-shaped take-up member pivoted on said holder and having a cord guide opening through which the cord passes, spring means acting on said take-up member to normally position the same horizontally with respect to the holder, and a cord guide means mounted on the holder and including a pair of guide openings through which the cord passes and a notch, said cord guide means coacting with the take-up member in freely feeding cord out of the holder when the cord is pulled upon and the take-up member assumes a position adjacent to said cord guide means and said cord guide means acting to grip the cord when said take-up member is moving toward its normal position on the release of the cord to prevent the cord from being pulled from the ball within the holder.

; 2. In a device of the character described, a holder for a ball of cord, means for mounting said holder, a substantially U-shaped take-up member pivoted on said holder and having a cord guide opening through which the cord passes,

spring means acting on said take-up member to normally position the same horizontally with respect to the holder, and a substantially V- shaped bracket secured on the holder and including diverging members and one of said members bent to form a hook having a notch and an opening through which the cord extends and the other member being provided with an opening adjacent the opening in the hook through which the cord extends, said bracket coacting with the take-up member in feeding cord freely from the holder when said cord is pulled upon and the take-up member assumes a position adjacent the hook and said bracket acting to grip the cord during the time the take-up member moves toward its normal position to prevent removal of the cord from the holder and thereby bring about movement of the free end of the cord in close proximity to said bracket.

3. In a combined twine holder and retractor, a holder for the support of a ball of twine, a guide mounted on one side of the holder and having spaced openings with the twine passing therethrough and forming a loop in the twine, and a spring actuated and pivotally mounted twin slack take-up member provided with an eye with the loop portion ofthe twine extending therethrough and normally occupying a position at an opposite side of the holder from the guide to bring the loop portion of the twine across the upper end of the holder, said member being movable under the influence of the twine when pulled at its free end to assume a position with the eye thereof located adjacent to and between the openings of the guide.

4. In a combined twine holder and retractor, a holder for the support of a ball of twine, a guide member mounted on one side of the holder and including diverging portions provided with openings to receive the twine, one of said portions terminating in a hook shaped portion provided with a notch receiving the twine between said openings, and a spring influenced take-up member pivotally mounted on the holder and having an eye with the twine extending therethrough and normally located on a side of the holder opposite to said guide to form a loop in th twine and movable under the influence of the twine when pulled at its free end to assume a position with the eye thereof located between the notch and one of the openings.

5. In a combination with a support having spaced vertical walls and upper and lower walls coacting in forming a pigeon-hole, a holder for a ball of twine seated on the lower wall of the pigeon-hole, flexible bowed members secured to opposite sides of the holder and bearing against the vertical walls, a twine guide carried by the holder and located at the front of the pigeonhole and having the twine engaging therewith, and a spring influenced twine slack take-up member pivoted on the holder including an eye with the twine extending therethrough and normally positioned rearwardly of the holder within the pigeon-hole to form a loop in the twine extending across the holder and movable to assume i a position adjacent the guide when a pull is made on the free end of the twine.

FRANKLIN H. McILWAIN. 

